CULTURAL

Every weekend that I stand in a church auditorium to speak to people, I face an enormous challenge. I am there as a man who is a believer in Jesus Christ, with a personally held deep conviction and commitment to follow Him. I come as a pastor who loves the church (and I'm not talking about the building). I come as an American born in the late 1950s and living in 2011.

I have to take a book called the Bible and relate it to those who are listening. It is a book that has been written not only in languages different from mine, but in cultures and in centuries different than the one I presently live in.

I have come to understand that the Bible gives God's unassailable truth, yet in a cultural container. The truth is absolute; the container, not so much. So I have to pour that truth from the container of first century Hebrew-Greek culture into the container of 20th century American culture. When that is done properly, not a drop of truth is lost.

For instance: 'Greet each other with a holy kiss,' found in I Corinthians 16. How about, 'Give warm, kind, genuine, sincere welcomes to each other as an expression of your love and unity?' Truth vs. container. In Kenosha, we shake hands or give hugs - maybe a fist pump or two, depending.

As leaders and pastors and shepherds and communicators, we have a responsibility to understand people and culture. Life can be hard - disappointing - a struggle. People come on the weekend overflowing with needs and looking for answers. They need hope and meaning.

We can give it to them by pouring the living water - the truth - into containers they can handle and drink from.

And be blessed.